Geelong Racing Club chases Melbourne Cup exemption

Geelong Racing Club has enquired about the possibility of Melbourne Cup exemption if the Caulfield Cup is pushed into November.

Victoria Racing Club executive general manager of racing Leigh Jordon said he had received an enquiry from GRC chief executive Daniel Salter, not long after The Age had asked Salter whether the club would put its hand up for exemption.

"It's probably worth another conversation with Leigh Jordon," Salter said.

"You would anticipate trainers and horses are still going to want to target a good lead-up race to Flemington, which Geelong has always been, so without a Caulfield Cup, depending on what they do on that preceding Saturday where the Caulfield Cup would normally sit, you would think the Geelong Cup would be the next obvious target [for trainers]."

Salter said the club enquires annually about the possibility of Melbourne Cup exemption, but the VRC has yet to entertain the offer.

Instead, the VRC gave exemption to its own race, the Andrew Ramsden Stakes, in May last year.

But a proposed later running of this year's Caulfield Cup meant the VRC would have one less exempt race in the lead up to the first Tuesday of November.

"We did [enquire] post last year's Melbourne Cup carnival but we haven't spoken to them about this spring in recent weeks given what's being discussed at the moment," Salter said, before firing off an email to Jordon.

"We get the same response pretty much every year that, 'We will consider it, but at this particular stage it's not [on our radar]'.

"Flemington have shown the last couple of years if they're looking at increasing the number of exempt races, they're more likely to have them at Flemington than anywhere else."

But Jordon said he wouldn't rule out providing an exemption to this year's Geelong Cup winner if the Caulfield Cup was moved to after the Melbourne Cup.

"I wouldn't say no," he said.

"We did obviously introduce the Ramsden last year and obviously we've had it two years in a row. Pre-COVID-19, the board had made a decision that would be it for ballot exempt races for this year - so the Ramsden, the Lexus, the Bart Cummings and throw in the Cox Plate and the Caulfield Cup.

"Whether the Caulfield Cup moved and that changed the situation, that would have to be looked at. I suppose I wouldn't rule it out but I know the board is happy with where we're sitting at the moment."

The Geelong Cup has produced Melbourne Cup winners Media Puzzle, Americain and Dunaden, while last year's Geelong Cup winner Prince Of Arran finished second in the 3200-metre classic.

But in other years, the Geelong Cup winner has missed out on a Melbourne Cup spot. Vengeur Masque won the 2017 Geelong Cup but was forced to run in a Lexus to try and gain a spot.

He then ran second in that race before winning a consolation Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the same race 2019 Geelong Cup runner-up True Self won last year after being balloted out of the Cup.

"Our comment has been the last couple of years that we leave it to the handicapper and it's sort of played out [that the Geelong Cup winner has made it into the Melbourne Cup]," Jordon said.

"So we leave it to the handicapper to give the Geelong Cup winner a penalty and that should get it into the race, rather than it being ballot exempt."